There are two truisms when it comes to the press:
- If someone quite famous and quite old starts having some health problems and you see a slew of stories on them, it’s part of an informal death watch. (Sometimes it even means there’s more to the story that we don’t know about that someone may not be reporting.) Think about the spate of stories years ago about Frank Sinatra having problems at concerts with his health and performances. The literally per-minute reports about Pope John Paul II.
- If there’s informed speculation that a political bigwig is on his way out (having to be forced to resign or quit on his/her own) every twist will be covered in minute detail….and official denials usually mean little.
So just look at this AP story and draw your own conclusions:
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hosted Sen. Joe Lieberman for a breakfast meeting Thursday amid speculation that the Connecticut Democrat could be in line to succeed him.
Lieberman, who has emerged as President Bush’s staunchest Democratic defender on the Iraq war, has bucked his party and been a vocal advocate for Bush’s Iraq policies.
He was tight-lipped about the 7:30 a.m. meeting with Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lieberman aides provided few details about the breakfast, saying that their boss does not discuss private meetings.
“Secretary Rumsfeld invited Senator Lieberman to an early morning breakfast to discuss the nation’s policies in Iraq,” said Lieberman spokeswoman Casey Aden-Wansbury. “That’s all there is to it.”
The Pentagon labeled this a routine meeting, since Liberman visited Iraq over Thanksgiving and Rumsfeld wanted to find out more about it. But, then, the AP adds:
But the timing of the Rumsfeld meeting raised some eyebrows in political circles. News reports speculated Thursday that Rumsfeld may retire early next year and Lieberman is among prospective replacements.
Rumsfeld, who met with other members of Congress, mostly Republicans, later in the day on Capitol Hill, brushed off the rumors of his departure from the Pentagon, telling reporters, “I have no plans to retire.”
A Lieberman aide, meanwhile, insisted the senator is focused on his 2006 re-election.
So Lieberman is 100 percent focused on his re-election? It’s possible — but improbable. There have just been too many signs that this is where it’s all heading…to a Rumsfeld exit, a Lieberman entrance…vilification of Lieberman by parts of his party and most likely at least some partial rebound for President George Bush in the polls since a Rumsfeld exit would be taken by many to be a sign of CHANGE, no matter how big or small. The question then would become what happens to Lieberman’s seat in Connecticut and how would that impact the partisan mix in the Senate. IF this happens…
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.